my old man's not well

[jacquisunderland]

I recently received the oldest lodger I have had to date because sadly his mam had passed away. A handsome 20 year old red eared slider called Jason.. she had had him since he was tiny so like a lot of little ones I take into my care he wasnt eating for the first couple of days but this not unusual.. but days later he's still not eating and looking very pink underneath.
When he came in he did have a poorly eye which swells up from time to time, I have starting treating it with meth' blue in his water and putting it on the eye and leaving him out of the water for 10-15mins daily. He's very lethargic so I've turned up the temp of his water. I'm now feeding him by hand from a syringe day and night with multi vitamins and 'Critical Care' powder and booked him an appointment with my vet for wednesday.. which is the soonest I could an appointment. I'm praying my elderly gent doesnt give up on life due to a broken heart, if I can get him well and fighting fit again I have a new home waiting for him with a gentleman who has been keeping aquatics since he was a boy and has many tanks and now has a huge 8ft tank and various breeds of turtle which would be a dream come true for my guy to retire to..... xx

[secdean02]

fingures crossed!

[jacquisunderland]

Hiya... good news..
is very optimistic about my graceous gent... she said that his pinky colouring could be due to his breed.. ie. red eared slider. His skin quality is good and they is no ulceration to the inside of his mouth but to be on the safe side she has prescribed him some medication which not only treats infection but has an appetite stimulant which I have to give him orally every other day. After giving him an initial dose aswel as continuing his dose of critical vitamins yesterday afternoon I offered him with some small pieces of boiled chicken last night when I was giving the rest their tea and to my amazement he took some and I was overjoyed. So it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel! xx

[turtlegirl]

So glad to hear he is better and has started eating -that's always a good sign. Hopefully he will be back to normal soon. 20 is not really old for turtles, who normally live over 40 years - he's barely middle aged and can look forward to a long life with his new owner. There is a documented 150+year old snapper in the US which has bullets lodged in its shell from the 1850s Civil War!

Yes some sliders do have naturally pink plastrons. Some of mine do which had me worried about septicaemia at first but as they were eating greedily and very active it was a false alarm, just me being an over anxious new Turtle Mum (we all know the feeling, right?)

It's really good of you to take in all these sick turtles and nurse them back to health. Best of luck to you and your Old Man

[jacquisunderland]

Its with my deepest regret that my sweet old gentlemen passed away monday night.. despite his appetite improving he was still very lethargic and floated most of the day if not on his rock,..when I went to get him out of the tank I was shocked to see him go all floppy.. god love him.. he died with his eyes open.. I was not only shocked but devasted and terribly upset, hence not being able to face telling you all till now. Despite it being bin day the next day I took him to my vets to arrange cremation.. I couldnt bear the thought of him in the bin and wanted him to go to the end with diginity. We will never know what happened, maybe there was more going on that was evident but after being with the same lady for many years until her death maybe the stress and not being well , the major change in people and routine, it might have been a broken heart. My only concilation is that he is back with his mam now...
R.I.P sweetheart ... love Aunty Jacqui xx